Elandor and Varenoth stand silently at the edge of the restricted area, staring at the rusted gate locked with a chain. The moon bathes the abandoned mine in pale light, and in the distance, the lake's dark waters remain eerily still.
Varenoth shifts impatiently.
"Are you sure she's coming?"
Elandor leans against the gate, calm as ever.
"She's not the type to back out over a little delay. If she said she'd come, she'll be here."
And right on cue, a shadow emerges from the darkness. Rivena strides toward them, moving with effortless confidence.
"You weren't planning on starting without me, were you?"
Elandor smirks.
"Starting? We were barely surviving the wait."
Rivena ignores the comment, instead stepping toward the gate, fingers brushing against the rusted chain.
"This has been locked up for years. But what if there's still something inside?"
Varenoth crosses his arms, watching as she studies the decayed entrance.
"The question isn't whether there's something inside. It's whether we actually want to go in."
Rivena takes a step back, then turns to them with a grin.
"Of course we do. Or are you afraid?"
Elandor chuckles.
"Well, now I know for sure–we're about to get into trouble."
Varenoth sighs.
"Fine. But if a ghost jumps at me, I'm running straight back to the village."
Rivena laughs before gripping the chain with determination.
"Then let's see what secrets this place has been hiding."
Rivena grips the rusted chain firmly, testing its resistance. Time has worn it down over the decades, but it still holds strong enough to deter intruders.
Elandor watches before stepping closer.
"If you break the chain, the whole village will know we were here."
Rivena smirks.
"Then I won't break it. I'll just open it."
Her fingers trail along the chain until they stop at a peculiar marking–a faint symbol etched into the metal, almost invisible at first glance.
Varenoth frowns, leaning in.
"That's not natural. Someone's touched this chain… maybe not too long ago."
Rivena's eyes gleam with excitement.
"Then that means we're not the first ones trying to get inside."
Elandor studies the gate for a moment before pulling out his knife and carefully running the blade along the metal. The material yields more easily than expected–almost as if someone had already prepared it to be opened.
A soft click sounds as the chain loosens and the gate creaks slightly ajar.
Varenoth sighs, stepping back.
"Great. Now there's really no turning back."
Rivena grins.
"That's exactly how I like it."
The three of them stand silently for a moment. Then, Rivena is the first to step into the darkness.
Elandor and Varenoth exchange a glance before following her, the gate groaning shut behind them.
The gate's creaking still echoes in the darkness as Rivena, Elandor, and Varenoth step into the abandoned mine. The air is thick with dust, as if time itself had stopped in this place.
Rivena pulls out a lantern she had thoughtfully brought with her, shaking it slightly to ensure its light remains steady.
"Well, what do you think? Just an empty tunnel, or are we going to find something unusual?"
Elandor turns, scanning the shadows.
"The truth? Places like this always have something unusual. We just don't know what yet."
Varenoth stays behind, arms crossed.
"Maybe it's just an old mine. But maybe we'll find something that was better left undisturbed."
As they move forward along the rocky path, faint patterns emerge on the crumbling walls. Small, circular symbols, seemingly carved into the stone long ago.
Rivena stops, running her fingers along one of them.
"Look at this! These aren't just cracks... Someone deliberately etched them here."
Elandor steps closer, squinting as he studies them.
"This isn't a miner's marking. It's something else."
Varenoth leans in, about to speak, when the ground suddenly trembles, as if something deep within the mine had shifted.
Rivena immediately lifts her head.
"Did you feel that?!"
Elandor remains still for a moment, then slowly pulls out his knife.
"That wasn't random."
Varenoth exhales deeply.
"Well, now it's clear–this won't just be an empty tunnel."
The faint tremor still hums through the stone walls as Rivena, Elandor, and Varenoth pause for a moment. Dust settles slowly in the abandoned mine, as if the place itself is watching them.
Rivena steps closer to one of the walls, her fingers tracing the strange circular carvings they had noticed earlier.
"These aren't just random markings. This might be a map."
Elandor leans in, studying the patterns closely.
"Or a warning."
Varenoth exhales.
"Either way, if the ground just moved beneath us, there has to be a reason."
Rivena continues examining the carvings, but as her fingertips glide over one particularly deep groove, the stone shifts–a soft click echoes through the air, as if she had just activated something hidden beneath the surface.
Before anyone can react, the ground suddenly gives way–and Rivena loses her balance.
"Rivena!"
Elandor reaches for her immediately, but it's too late–Rivena disappears into the darkness, falling through a hidden passage beneath the floor.
Without hesitation, Elandor and Varenoth leap after her, ignoring the looming danger.
As the shadows swallow them, their world changes. Below, where Rivena vanished, something ancient awaits them.
Darkness surrounds them as they tumble through the hidden crevice, the air thick with ancient dust. Rivena lands first, rolling instinctively to absorb the impact, followed by Elandor, who swiftly steadies himself. Varenoth crashes down last with a grunt.
The space around them is vast–wider than a simple underground chamber should be. As Rivena lifts her lantern, the dim light reveals carvings stretching across the walls, glowing faintly with an eerie shimmer.
Elandor steps forward, fingers brushing over one of the symbols.
"These markings… they're not just decoration. They mean something."
Rivena studies the patterns, their circular repetitions oddly similar to the symbols they saw above.
"Maybe this is what the mine was hiding all along."
Varenoth glances around before speaking.
"Or maybe this is what it was protecting."
Just then, the ground beneath them pulses–not like a tremor, but something deeper, something alive. The symbols flicker, responding to their presence.
Rivena exhales sharply.
"I think we just woke something up."
The symbols' faint glow intensifies, pulsing as if the chamber itself were responding to the presence of the three intruders. The once-still air shifts, a silent current moving through it, carrying with it an invisible force.
Rivena takes a cautious step back, raising the lantern higher.
"This isn't just a cavern… This place is alive."
Elandor holds his breath for a moment, watching as one of the symbols slowly shifts across the stone. It wasn't carved by human hands, nor shaped by tools–the stone is moving on its own.
Varenoth tenses.
"If it's waking up, that means it's hiding something. And it may not want us here."
At the center of the chamber, a hollow depression begins to form, the ground folding inward as if something beneath it were revealing itself. Rivena is the first to approach, excitement and caution mixing in her gaze.
"There's something down here."
As Elandor and Varenoth step closer, three distinct objects emerge, rising from the depths like relics that were waiting for them all along.
The air thickens. The choice has been made.